We don’t want to get too optimistic just yet, but there is finally some good news at the nation’s gas pumps. Or at least there’s less bad news. Prices might be flattening out, or at least they aren’t skyrocketing quite as quickly as before.
Just don’t expect to find a filling station bargain anytime soon.
Gas Prices Down Two Days This Week
Green Diesel Gas Pump refueling a carEngin Akyurt/Pexels
According to data from AAA, the US national average price for a gallon of gasoline actually fell earlier this week. Prices dropped on September 22 and 23, if only slightly.
Naturally, it didn’t last for long. The price for a gallon of regular was $4.47 yesterday, but AAA’s data has shown that it is up a penny today to $4.48. Still, one penny doesn’t feel so bad when the average is up 50 cents in the last 30 days.
It’s even better news if you drive a diesel, or if you buy anything that needs diesel in the supply chain – which is pretty much everything. Diesel prices have fallen for two days in a row. The difference is still small, but a gallon was averaging $6.53 on September 22 when GM announced its new 8.3-liter diesel V8. As of September 24, it’s $6.51. So there’s that.
The bad news, of course, is that diesel is still supremely expensive and sitting at an all-time high for the recorded nationwide average, which was reset again earlier this week. Gasoline is still about 50 cents from its all-time record of $5.02 per gallon, set in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, disrupting world fuel and oil markets.
Which way are pump prices headed? They’re probably going up again, based on US Energy Information Administration data. That data showed the spot price for gasoline up by between 3.8% and 5.1%, depending on the market in the US. Heating oil, which mirrors diesel fuel, was flat yesterday.
Will They Fall From All-Time Highs?
AAA Price Chart 9-17-26AAA
Gas prices are not at all-time highs, but they aren’t far off. They are at all-time highs for this time of year, and are nearly 75 cents per gallon above the previous highs in 2022 and 2023. Current prices are nearly back to the levels last seen this spring, when the US launched attacks on Iran, which led to the ongoing closure and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
Prices could soar again if the US strategic petroleum reserves continue to fall. The US government has been withdrawing from reserves to help keep prices in check, and levels are now at their lowest since 1982, which is when filling of the reserve first started. Levels are around one-third of historic reserves, as the drawdown that started during 2022’s highs has not been replaced.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for shipping oil and gas from the Middle East, is still at a near standstill. Data shows that just 10% of the usual tonnage is flowing through this week. Meanwhile, another key route, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, is also under a blockade.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Gas StationNitin Chauhan / Pexels
Oil isn’t getting to the world, and prices are reflecting that. US gasoline demand hasn’t dropped, so there’s nothing to help ease supply and lower prices. With temperatures falling across the US, heating season is about to begin and that means diesel prices are set to skyrocket once again.
Sources: AAA, EIA
